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JAMES HANSEN TAKES ON CLIMATE AND EXTREME WEATHER: Forget the oft-repeated caveat that recent extreme weather events can’t be definitively connected to global warming, James Hansen said Saturday in a Washington Post op-ed previewing his new study.

“Our analysis shows that it is no longer enough to say that global warming will increase the likelihood of extreme weather and to repeat the caveat that no individual weather event can be directly linked to climate change,” Hansen, the director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, wrote in the op-ed. “To the contrary, our analysis shows that, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change.” http://wapo.st/OGr14m

The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is likely to ruffle Republican feathers and revive long-standing disputes over climate science. More on the study, from The Associated Press: http://wapo.st/RmWahw

SUMMER GRILLING CONTEST: My request Friday for chicken wing recipes was so successful that I’ve come up with an idea for a contest. I’m officially putting out a call for your best summer grilling recipes. That includes anything that can be grilled or smoked. I’m an equal-opportunity griller, so vegetarian entries are fine with me. I’ll choose a few of the most intriguing recipes and prepare them this week in the Restuccia test kitchen. The person that submits my favorite recipe gets a shout-out in Friday’s ME and a special prize.

ARMENDARIZ SPEAKS: House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Republicans pounced late Friday on former regional EPA official Al Armendariz’s first public comments since resigning in April amid intense GOP criticism over his comments comparing the agency’s enforcement of environmental laws to crucifixion. The quote that Republican committee staff highlighted from the Texas Tribune interview: “The coal industry is destroying communities; it’s poisoning our air and our water and our land.”

--ON STEPPING DOWN: “The ongoing work of the agency is more important than any one individual’s media battles, and I didn’t think it would be a good way to spend my time or ask others at the agency to spend their time in the midst of a media fight with people who disagreed with the work I was doing or the policies at the agency.”

--ON SKIPPING A JUNE HOUSE HEARING: “I really decided that it would be best for me not to attend. I didn’t think that there would be anything productive that would come of it. And I really felt that I and the members of the committee and others would have better ways to spend their time, than to have me up there answering questions about an agency where I no longer worked.”

--ON WORKING WITH INDUSTRY: “I had very good working relationships when I was regional administrator with a number of plant managers and people in industry. Unfortunately, the trade associations and their attorneys thrive on conflict. So what I think you’re seeing in the media is a lot of trumped-up conflict between the trade associations and the attorneys who make their living on suing the federal government, when in fact many businesses in Texas that are regulated by the EPA, like refining and petrochemicals, are doing well — are expanding, are growing jobs and are making investments to reduce their emissions.”

** A message from America’s Natural Gas Alliance: Travelers at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport can now enjoy cleaner transportation thanks to 30 new CNG-fueled parking shuttles. These shuttles will refuel at a new Apache Corporation CNG station, and deliver $360,000 in savings per year to the airport. http://bit.ly/NX091r **

ROMNEY RAISING MONEY OFF SOLYNDRA EMAILS: Mitt Romney is using recent documents released by House Energy and Commerce Committee on the Solyndra loan guarantee to raise money for his election bid. “When faced with the grim prospect of losing hundreds of millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars on President Obama's dangerous Solyndra gamble, what was the White House deputy senior adviser's response? ‘Ugh,’” Romney for President Communications Director Gail Gitcho wrote in an email to the GOP presidential candidate’s supporters. “I wonder if that was also her reaction to learning that Americans have now suffered through a 42nd straight month of unemployment above 8 percent. Or to the news that economic growth remains sluggish, a testament to the failure of President Obama's government-centered policies.” Gitcho asked supporters to donate $10 “to tell Barack Obama you don't want another four years of his failed policies and bad bets.”

OBAMA CAMP TOUTS WIND ENERGY: The Obama campaign released a new web video Friday which argues that the president’s support for renewable energy is creating jobs. The campaign has put renewed emphasis on its clean energy agenda amid news that Mitt Romney would allow the production tax credit for wind to expire at the end of the year. The video includes an interview with Steve Smiley, president and CEO of Michigan-based Heron Wind. The video: http://bit.ly/QNnO5u

USEC’S STOCK PROBLEMS: Despite last week’s announcement (http://politico.pro/N7Hj8m) about the new board overseeing USEC’s Ohio project, the news wasn’t enough to buoy the company’s stock — which the New York Stock Exchange has threatened to delist. Last week, USEC floated the officials from prominent firms like Exelon, Babcock & Wilcox and Toshiba that had joined the new board. But in the three full days of trading since, the company’s stock price hasn’t cracked the needed $1 per share. In fact, USEC’s stock has closed at $1 per share or above only seven days since April 18 and has until mid-November to right the ship for 30 consecutive days. USEC has said it is “reviewing all options for addressing the listing issue,” including a reverse split.

HOUSE PRESSES JACKSON ON FRACKING: EPA should take heed of a recent report on the agency’s examination of the impact of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water, House members wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on Friday. The members point to a recent report released by the American Petroleum Institute and America’s Natural Gas Alliance (by Battelle Memorial Institute) that said there were defects in EPA’s “study design and conduct, including problems in the quality assurance plan and the idea of using retrospective sites where baseline data does not exist,” the letter says. The members urge EPA to heed the report’s warnings and consult with industry in the process to avoid any potential missteps. The letter: http://politico.pro/QwdZJF

TRIVIA: Take a break from the Olympics and drop by POLITICO Pro's next trivia night, hosted by Tony Romm and Patrick Gavin, at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Pros can RSVP with their teams of four to awilliams@politico.com.

QUICK HITS

- Investors are eagerly awaiting Chesapeake Energy’s earnings, which the embattled natural gas company is slated to release today: http://on.wsj.com/TavAH5

- BP, Transocean and Halliburton are setting aside money for the fallout of the 2010 Gulf spill: http://bit.ly/Oy73LC

** A message from America’s Natural Gas Alliance: Thanks to natural gas, we don’t have to choose between advancing our economy, our environment and our greater energy self-reliance for our nation. This year, the average U.S. household will see a nearly $1,000 increase in disposable income thanks to America’s vast supplies of affordable natural gas. This abundance also is making U.S. companies and American workers more competitive — creating more than 1 million U.S. manufacturing jobs by 2025. With continuous advances in drilling technology and strong state-led oversight, safe and responsible development is taking place every day across our country. That’s why America’s natural gas is smarter power today. Follow us on Twitter @angaus **